Book Description

This collection of papers explores the theory, history, economics, evaluation, and applications of the conjunctive use of surface and groundwater. Ways to use water efficiency for irrigation are analyzed, and their feasibility and institutional implications are examined in case histories of California, Pakistan, and China. Particular attention is paid to the concept of externalities - costs borne by society or by persons other than the individual whose actions occasioned them. In the context of irrigated agriculture, such diseconomies impede the efficient allocation of water, and thus output is less than it could be. The authors consider a host of remedies: institutional arrangements, methods of irrigation management, and investment in irrigation and drainage facilities, as well as plans for involving pricing, taxation, and regulation. The demanding informational and managerial requirements of efficient conjunctive use are also addressed in chapters on the use of sophisticated analytical methods to measure and model the efficiency of irrigation systems.